I would like to be associated with the expressions of sympathy to our colleague, Senator Craughwell, on the passing of his wife, Helen, and also to the Bonner family. I knew Senator Bonner. May they rest in peace.

I am raising the plight of pubs and publicans. As the Leader is aware, I come from a publican background. More than 2,200 pubs have closed since 2005. That is a decline of 25%. In my county of Limerick, over 40% of pubs have closed. In Dublin that figure is 1%. That 40% versus 1% is a startling figure. The local pub is a social anchor. It is where everything happens, from the GAA after the match to weddings and funerals. It is part of our social fabric. Four people in five believe the Government should take action in protecting our pubs in budget 2027. The cost of doing business has gone up. Energy costs, labour costs and water costs have all gone up for publicans and many are operating on a margin of less than 1%. I accept that excise duty has not increased since 2014 but margins are very tight for many publicans. I am talking about the small rural and local publicans in cities and towns. The 64% of pubs that do not serve food did not benefit from the 9% VAT rate and without targeted fiscal support we risk triggering an avalanche of further closures. The Vintners Federation of Ireland, VFI, has brought forward an on-trade sustainability scheme. It is a targeted tax credit based on verified supply chain costs of draught products capped at €20,000 per premises and it is specifically designed to support smaller, local pubs. The Government already uses tax credits to support film production, digital gaming and unscripted television production. The pub receives nothing. It is something that would be in line with what is happening in other industries. The proposal is not an excise rebate or reduction. It does not alter excise duty and has been specifically designed to comply with the EU alcohol structured directive. I would like for the Leader to support this and contact the Minister, Deputy Burke, and the Government in relation to this. I believe none of us want to see the fabric of society closing down. In France, they are now trying to reopen cafés that have closed down. Once a pub closes, I believe it will never open its doors again so I am looking for the Leader's support.